No road widening inside Bandipur Tiger Reserve, clarifies BJP MLA after wildlife activist raises objection

BJP MLA Niranjan Kumar clarified that he did not request the Centre to widen the road inside the Bandipur Tiger Reserve after a wildlife activist raised objection to it.

Karnataka BJP MLA Niranjan Kumar from Gundlupet Assembly Constituency had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20 requesting him to widen NH-766 and also to place a divider on the road to avoid accidents. The letter received opposition from wildlife activists and conservationists who pointed out that this highway passes through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

Speaking to India Today, Niranjan Kumar said, "There is a divider from Nanjangud to Gundulpet. Vehicles coming from both Tamil Nadu and Kerala use this stretch. I've requested them (NHAI) to install a divider between the road and not to widen it because there have been a lot of accidents being reported in this place in recent days."

In the letter, Niranjan mentioned that a divider should be installed and the road should be widened on NH-766 from Nanjangud to Kerala border via Gundlupet. Wildlife Activist Joseph Hoover said, "Dividers should be installed from Begur to the forest gate, but inside the forest it is a critical wildlife area and a divider cannot be installed in that place. Wildlife areas should be left as it is without any disturbance. We are already suffering from extreme climate events and we cannot be losing our forests all the time."

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